SL55/63/65/R230 AMG Ugh.....looks like ABC pump just took a dump on me.

Apr 8, 2012 | 11:06 PM

mjr24

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From: Texas

M6 Gran Coupe

Ugh.....looks like ABC pump just took a dump on me.

Had intermittent red and blue warnings the last week about ABC on dash and car wouldn't raise or lower. There were a few times where it would not flash a warning and was fine. Fluid level seemed fine...topped it off a bit with Pentosin to make sure. Couldn't find any fluid leaks, either. I could smell the Pentosin, though....seemed like a stronger smell when I tried raising or lowering car.

Because it was intermittent and I didn't seem to be losing any fluid.....I figured I would schedule it for a flush and rodeo this week. However, last night, I saw that there was a decent amount of fluid on the pavement after I drove the car a bit hard (noticed fluid within 20 minutes of me turning car off).

Drove car home.....woke up this morning...same thing, ton of fluid under car. I did notice a bit of a buzzing from pump after car was switched off.....and I also noticed some bubbles in the dipstick (meaning I assume air was in there).

Everything else has been fine....struts look fine from what I can tell. I guess it could be a hose that finally broke (I'm praying)....but I'm thinking pump still.

Question......assuming pump is kaput and car is not sagged to ground (it's still up at normal height).....can I drive the 5 miles to shop or am I risking more damage? I know most people normally want to get it in ASAP in fear of ruining the pump, otherwise....but as I said, I think it's gone already.

Apr 9, 2012 | 09:48 AM

WHTEVO

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From: Colorado

07' SL65, 04' E55, 03' Evo8, 08' GSXR, DSM's...

I would say you're fine to drive it top your shop but who knows.

I would start by putting it on a lift and verify where the leak is originating from, then follow by doing a proper flush and see what the STAR system pulls up for errors and go from there. Good luck.

Aaron

Apr 9, 2012 | 10:49 AM

falconsprint

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From: SF Bay Area

2001 Lamborghini Diablo, 2009 SL65 (sold), 1998 CL600 (sold), 1989 560SEL (sold)

Quote:

Originally Posted by mjr24

Question......assuming pump is kaput and car is not sagged to ground (it's still up at normal height).....can I drive the 5 miles to shop or am I risking more damage? I know most people normally want to get it in ASAP in fear of ruining the pump, otherwise....but as I said, I think it's gone already.

If air enters the pump you'll ruin it for sure. I'd have it towed.

Apr 9, 2012 | 11:47 AM

alx

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Quote:

Originally Posted by falconsprint

If air enters the pump you'll ruin it for sure. I'd have it towed.

the abc system is mostly self bled. some air can be trapped at the shocks, but this is rare if no components were r&r beforehand.

have the car read. the abc diagnostic capabilities in das are excellent. there is even an abc stress test routine (not rodeo) that will pinpoint if your tandem pump is on its way out.

have the car towed. if your pump is bad it is possible for the car to go all the way down and fluid will overflow from the abc reservoir making the possibility of an engine fire very real. this happened to me on my sl65 and it was a mess.

Last edited by alx; Apr 9, 2012 at 11:50 AM.

Apr 9, 2012 | 02:04 PM

falconsprint

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From: SF Bay Area

2001 Lamborghini Diablo, 2009 SL65 (sold), 1998 CL600 (sold), 1989 560SEL (sold)

Quote:

Originally Posted by alx

the abc system is mostly self bled. some air can be trapped at the shocks, but this is rare if no components were r&r beforehand.

I was thinking that if there is a major leak the reservoir would go dry.

Apr 9, 2012 | 02:50 PM

alx

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Quote:

Originally Posted by falconsprint

I was thinking that if there is a major leak the reservoir would go dry.

good point. it will. but it will self bleed if you add the fluid back in.

on a second thought if the system ran dry it will absolutely kill the tandem pump and this is what most likely happened...

either way the car would need to be read to identify bad components in the abc (aside from the visual leak test)

Apr 9, 2012 | 03:07 PM

mjr24

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From: Texas

M6 Gran Coupe

I did end up driving to the mechanic.....the car was not slammed so I would imagine there was enough fluid in there to make the 5 mile drive and it got there OK.

If I had any hope of pump still being good....I would have had it towed....but I have pretty much no hope of that.